I'm a Medic, but They All Want Me on the Front Lines?! (II)

Liu Ziyun didn't even look at the outcome of the fight. He rushed straight to Kensei Muguruma's side and checked his injuries.

Luckily... he only passed out from losing too much blood.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then—

"Heal!"

He slashed Kensei Muguruma once.

Then he made four more slashes, treating the other squad members.

After all that, he stood up again, panting. "Captain Kyōraku, let's... hurry and find the next team."

Shunsui Kyōraku gave him a long look, then suddenly said, "Liu Ziyun, let's do this—the rest of you stay here and escort them back."

He paused. "You and I will find the other teams ourselves."

Liu Ziyun stared. "Just the two of us? But..."

"That's enough," Shunsui Kyōraku said. "Besides... you don't want to waste any more time, do you?"

Liu Ziyun looked at Shunsui Kyōraku's eyes beneath his straw hat and suddenly understood—the captain had noticed something.

He nodded. "All right, Captain Kyōraku."

Shunsui Kyōraku added, "Don't be so anxious. Captain Ukitake is rescuing people too. They'll be all right."

Liu Ziyun said, "...Yes, sir."

But inwardly, he thought, How can I not be anxious? Every second we're late, another person could die!

The third battlefield.

When Liu Ziyun and Shunsui Kyōraku arrived, what they saw was a little... strange.

Jūshirō Ukitake stood to one side with his arms folded, calmly watching several squad members gang up on a Menos Grande.

The scene was a bit like a teacher supervising an exam—they could fight while he watched.

Love Aikawa and five others stood behind them, supporting one another. All of them were seriously injured, but their lives weren't in immediate danger.

Without a word, Liu Ziyun rushed over to the six of them—

"Heal!"

"Heal!"

"Heal!"

He slashed each of them once.

Love Aikawa and the others were utterly bewildered by the slashes.

"Z-Ziyun?" Love Aikawa looked at his healing wounds, then at Liu Ziyun. "Why did you slash us? And... why doesn't it hurt?"

The others looked at one another too and found that their wounds were all healing rapidly, though a little more slowly than Shinji Hirako and the others' had.

At that moment, Shunsui Kyōraku made his move too.

He joined the fight and teamed up with the squad members, quickly killing the Menos Grande.

The battle was over.

Jūshirō Ukitake walked over and was stunned to see Love Aikawa and the others completely unharmed. "Th-they're healed already?"

Shunsui Kyōraku nodded. "Yes. Quite an impressive ability, isn't it?"

He paused and added, "But the healing seems a little slower this time. I'm guessing... the kid used up too much Reiatsu, and the effect weakened."

Jūshirō Ukitake looked at Liu Ziyun's pale face and nodded. "That's true. Even so, it's an impressive ability."

He looked at Shunsui Kyōraku. "I also found Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's team. They're resting over there. Let's go to them together."

Shunsui Kyōraku asked, "How are the casualties over there?"

"Not too bad," Jūshirō Ukitake said. "There are eight left. They're all injured, but not seriously. They only ran into one Menos Grande, so they weren't under much pressure."

"Oh, that's good." Shunsui Kyōraku breathed a sigh of relief. "The previous two teams each faced two Menos Grande and suffered heavy casualties. A moment later, and they might all have been wiped out."

Jūshirō Ukitake's expression turned grave. "That bad?"

"Yes." Shunsui Kyōraku nodded. "And... a Gillian appearing in the Trial Grounds is definitely not normal."

As they spoke, the two led Liu Ziyun and the injured toward Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's team.

The fourth battlefield.

Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi and his squad members had indeed been relatively lucky.

They had only encountered one Menos Grande, and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi had commanded them well. Though everyone was wounded, no one had died.

After Liu Ziyun arrived, he didn't use his Zanpakuto again. Instead, he used ordinary Kaidō to treat the injured.

Shunsui Kyōraku watched in puzzlement. "Why aren't you using your Zanpakuto? Isn't Heal faster?"

Liu Ziyun answered as he worked, "Heal works quickly, but it consumes a lot of Spiritual Power and causes my Reiatsu to drop sharply. Once my Reiatsu falls below a certain point, I can't use it anymore."

He paused. "And... my Zanpakuto has another skill called Wound Severance. It can draw on the injured person's own Spiritual Power to heal them, so it consumes much less. But that skill... I haven't learned it yet."

That was half true and half false—he had actually mastered Wound Severance, but he really didn't have enough Reiatsu to use it now.

Shunsui Kyōraku looked thoughtful. "A Zanpakuto for healing... Why would it be called Life-Taker? That sounds like a sword meant to kill people."

Liu Ziyun froze, then started making things up. "Uh... it does sound a little scary. But my Zanpakuto told me she's called Life-Taker because she takes back lives lost to the fate of death."

He paused and added, "That's why her release command is 'To exist is to change fate.'"

Inwardly, though, he thought, Can I tell you my sword is called Life-Taker because she can take other people's fates and let me control them however I want? Tch, if I said that, wouldn't I scare you all to death?

Shunsui Kyōraku wore an expression of sudden understanding. "What a fine Zanpakuto. But... can she only heal? Surely she has some offensive ability? Otherwise, how would you protect yourself?"

Liu Ziyun played dumb. "Maybe she does... After all, she doesn't heal people when I slash them normally, only when I use the skill. As for offensive skills... I haven't mastered any, so I don't know."

Shunsui Kyōraku shook his head. "That won't do. You need to practice your Zankensoki. Otherwise, if a master healer like you can't protect himself, wouldn't you be a sitting duck?"

Liu Ziyun put on a weakling's expression. "I probably don't need to, do I? I usually just stay in the Fourth Division anyway, so there shouldn't be much danger..."

Jūshirō Ukitake cut in. "No, your ability is well suited to working with combat units on the front lines. That's how you can minimize casualties."

Liu Ziyun said, "..."

Fuck! This is all that fucking Tsunayashiro Shigure's fault! He got these two captains watching me! I was planning to keep my head down until the very end! Send me to the front lines? I'd probably die there in a few days. How the hell am I supposed to keep my head down then?

He gritted his teeth inwardly. Tsunayashiro Shigure, just you wait! I'll find a chance to kill you!

But then another thought occurred to him.

Wait... This incident has gotten so big, he was probably just a pawn being used by someone else. His head might be delivered to the Fourth Division after we get back, right?

Ah... What a shame. I won't get to kill that bastard myself.

Out loud, however, he put on a troubled expression.

"Uh... But aside from Kaidō, I only know a little Kidō and Bakudō at most. And I can't remember many incantations... I tried hard to learn Zanjutsu too, but I just couldn't get the hang of it."

Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake exchanged a glance.

Their eyes clearly said, You expect me to believe that?

But they said nothing more.

They only gave Liu Ziyun a meaningful look.

That look seemed to say:

Kid, you've hidden yourself pretty well.

But that's all right... We have plenty of time to watch.

Their looks made Liu Ziyun's skin crawl.

He quickly lowered his head and focused on treating the injured.

But inwardly, he wailed:

I'm done for... Two captains have their eyes on me...

My peaceful, lazy life... is coming to an end...

Tsunayashiro Shigure! This isn't over between us!

Not far away, Jūshirō Ukitake said quietly to Shunsui Kyōraku, "Shunsui, what do you think?"

Shunsui Kyōraku tugged at the brim of his hat. "A kid who can use Enkōsen without an incantation to block a Gillian's Cero, drive a Gillian back with Sōkatsui, and has a Zanpakuto that can 'rewrite fate'..."

He paused, then smiled. "And he says he 'can't get the hang of Zanjutsu' and 'can't remember incantations'?"

Jūshirō Ukitake smiled too. "Yes... interesting."

The two looked at Liu Ziyun.

The scar-faced boy who was earnestly treating the injured and looked utterly harmless.

"Captain Unohana has really found a treasure," Shunsui Kyōraku said softly.

"Yes." Jūshirō Ukitake nodded. "But... he doesn't seem to want people to know he's a treasure."

"Then let's let him keep hiding it." Shunsui Kyōraku grinned. "After all... you can't wrap fire in paper."

"One day, he'll understand—"

"Some light can't be hidden."

The two exchanged a smile.

At that moment, Liu Ziyun, who was bandaging the injured, suddenly shivered.

What's going on...

Why do I feel... like someone's watching me?

He raised his head and looked around.

Everything was normal.

But he had a faint, ominous premonition.

I have a feeling...

The days ahead won't be very peaceful.

He sighed and bent his head back to work.

And in the distance, the exit to the Trial Grounds was already close at hand.

The rescue operation was about to end.

But some things...

Had only just begun.